Over A Barrel
by Yaegashi Yoshiki
Summary: Shounin-ai. Claude feels guilty after causing Ashton to get sick. Over the course of a day he goes from mulling over his feelings to finally telling Ashton how he feels.


Over a Barrel  
  
A/N: My god.... a fic of mine that will be entirely fluff? Impossible!  
  
Oh well... here goes nothing... if you couldn't tell it's from Star Ocean Ex.  
  
"..." Speech ... Thoughts ---------(...)--------- Time and locale change.  
  
A horrendous sneeze racked the small inn as the inhabitants stared up at the roof of the common room. To the untrained ear, the sound seemed to be one horrendous unified noise, however the small traveling group at the center table knew better. "How many days has it been now Celine-san? " Precis asked as she allowed one leg to dangle over the side of her chair. During the last three hours she had eventually giving up on trying to seduce Claude and had instead began to play with the several condiment containers on their table. "Since Ashton-chan caught that cold... or since Ururun managed to catch it from him? Or maybe you mean when did Gyoro manage to finally catch it too?" "That first one should do Celine-san, " Rena said softly as she played with a basket lying on her plate. "Well.... I think it's been about three days now. We hardly noticed the first day though so it could be about four. We only really noticed when he fainted outside of this town. If it weren't for that we'd probably not have stopped here," Celine said softly as she cast a disapproving glance at her surroundings.  
  
Throughout the conversation, Claude continued to stare down at his plate, seemingly engrossed in the congealing stew that he had received that morning. He had hardly eaten after the first few moments, and after expending every other option, he was forced to return to his troubled thoughts. He still felt responsible for Ashton's condition since it had been his idea to take a short cut through a local forest. Of course it wasn't Claude's fault the forest had suddenly ended in a massive swamp that they had been forced to cross. He continued to stare at the inedible plate as his thoughts turned to a different matter.  
  
Over the past three months since they had left the continent of Cross, Claude had found himself being drawn closer and closer to the depressed swordsman and his comical pair of "shoulder accessories", and now as the older male lay sick upstairs, Claude actually felt an emptiness inside of himself. He hated thinking that it had been his fault that Ashton had gotten sick, and now that he was actually starting to confront his owns feelings, he felt like he should be doing something to comfort Ashton.  
  
Claude slowly looked up from his meal to find the others staring quietly at him. He blushed furiously as he realized he might have been mumbling his thoughts out loud. He was relieved however when Rena leaned over and shock him softly. "You okay Claude-san? You seemed completely out of it there," She spoke softly as she stared up at him. He simply nodded slowly. "Sorry guys. I just seem to be kind of distracted with everything that's been going on lately," Claude said as he picked himself up from his seat at the table. He nodded to the others and slowly made his way out of the building.  
  
Claude wandered outside of the Inn, looking up at the three-story building with sadness. He could easily make out Ashton's window from his position and could see the forlorn swordsman lying near the window, trying to simultaneously whip three pairs of noses. He sighed softly as he watched Ashton from afar for what had to be the thirtieth time in the last few weeks, and decided that he had finally had enough. He couldn't stand waiting like he had been thus far, and so decided to take matters into his own hands and tell the habitually depressed swordsman of his new crush.  
  
He began to walk back into the Inn till a strange sight caught his vision. Across the street, there where several tents plopped over the village's main square and from the looks of the grounds a small-scale festival had suddenly broken out. He moved his head slowly to the side, taking in the curious sight as the various people milled around the stalls. The sound that caught his ears slowly focused into view as he noticed a rather large tent that housed what looked like an auction house. Smiling to himself, Claude wandered over, hoping to find something that would catch his eye.  
  
I wonder what he'd like? A ring? No.... far too clichéd for Ashton-kun... maybe some new swords? I doubt I'd even know what kind he liked... besides what strength they were. Maybe, Before Claude could finish his last thought; the auctioneer cleared his throat dramatically and whipped the sheet off of a new item for sale. Claude sucked in his breath when he saw it, and smiled despite himself. The auctioneer had uncovered a small barrel about the size of a flagon (mini A/N: This is an old English term for beer glass basically... although they tended to be a weee bit bigger then modern beer glasses.). Claude instantly pushed his way up front and awaited the auctioneer's price. "Today and today only, we have this exquisite item of design from the kingdom of Lacour. This miniature barrel was used to transport one of the most rarest liquor's the world of Expel had ever known, and although it has long since been drained of said fluid, the essence of the liquor has seeped into the wood giving it its distinctive aroma. This is a fine piece to add to anyone's collection of fine antiques. Who would start the bidding at... say five hundred gold?"  
  
Claude instantly raised his arm into the air, being acknowledged by the auctioneer. He continually bid till the price had finally tapped out at five thousand gold. He ended up being the winner, and after selling his old shield in order to pay, gave over the money to the man. As Claude was leaving the bazaar, he noticed one final thing. On a table near the back of the auction was a small pair of helmets, measuring only about five inches in diameter. Walking over, Claude noticed that the miniature helmets where fully functioning helms, and where marked as "dragons helmets". Well at least this way Ururun and Gyoro won't be jealous of Ashton chan when I give him his "present", thought Claude as he sold his last few spare items so as to pay for the helmets. He smiled to himself as he pried the lid of the barrel open and stuffed the two miniature helmets into the empty holder.  
  
----------(A few minutes later outside of Ashton's room)--------  
  
Claude knocked softly, as he waited impatiently for Ashton to ask him to enter. A few moments later the muffled reply came, and Claude pushed the door open, holding the small object that he had poured all of his hopes, and most of his gold, into behind his back. He noticed Ashton's body lying on the bed across the room from the door. The swordsman had his back turned to the door and only the twin dragons moved their heads to regard Claude. This was done quite lethargically as both dragons seemed to be dragging themselves over Ashton's body. The elder male groaned gently as he felt the dragons internal organs knotting themselves. "So, how's our resident invalid doing tonight?" Claude asked softly as he placed himself on the edge of Ashton's bed.  
  
The elder male rolled over slowly, regarding Claude with icy cold eyes. "You know it's not funny to kid dying people," He asked with entire sincerity, as he looked Claude over. The younger boy laughed softly as he reached out and patted Ashton's head. "Gomen Ashton-chan. I didn't mean to insult you. I was just trying to lighten your mood a little bit. It's unnatural to see you this lazy. Upset yes. Even completely depressed... but never lazy," Claude said with a smile as he let his hand rest on top of Ashton's head. The older male smiled as he leaned into the touch, encouraging Claude to continue with why he was there.  
  
"Ashton-san... do you mind if I asked you something serious for a moment?" Claude asked slowly as he let his head hang down, allowing his blonde hair to obscure his facial features. Ashton looked up at Claude with concern written across his features. He had rarely seen the younger man with this much seriousness in his actions. "Alright Claude-chan... You can tell me anything... what's wrong?" Ashton asked as he continued to look up at the younger male from his prone position. Claude sighed softly as he continued, "It's just that for the last few months we've been fighting closely together and... I feel like I've really gotten to know you in this little time. I know most of your faults, and most of the things that make you tick. Also I've watched you grow in battle and in life as you've managed to get over Precis's lack of feelings and the other obstacles that have been in our way. I just wanted to ask you something now."  
  
"Like I said before Claude-san... you can ask me anything." "It's just that... I really like you and I was hoping you'd like to go out sometime when you're feeling better," With this, Claude thrust forward both hands which now held the small barrel that he had bought. Ashton eyes lit up at the small trinket and they began to water softly as he caught the scent that the barrel gave off. He looked up into Claude's eyes with shock, only to see Claude starting to cry softly. Ashton very slowly leaned forward and managed to pull Claude's neck down to his level. "Of course Claude-chan... I'd love to. I just hope Rena doesn't get too angry when she hears about it," and after saying that, Ashton slowly pressed his lips against the now shocked Claude's.  
  
The kiss lasted a few moments as the two lingered together. It was only broken when Ashton's body began to shiver softly and another coughing fit overtook his body. As he broke away from Claude the barrel rolled over and its contents spilled forth, revealing the two small helmets. Ashton stared at them for a few moments before Ururun and Gyoro moved forward quickly and shoved the two objects onto their heads. The two helmets fit perfectly as the two still sick dragons peered at each other admiring the helmets. "I take it I'm not the only one you're after then, " Ashton joked softly as he hugged Claude's body softly. 


End file.
